Trapped
by Nihil Asara
Summary: Kirito becomes trapped in SAO in the virtual replicca of his sister's body. Reminded of what he's left behind he becomes more single-minded in his clearing of the game. Possible Kirito/Sachi pairing. Adventure/Drama/Horror. Gender!Swap!Fem!Kirito.
1. Chapter 1

This is a Sword Art Online fanfiction. Trapped in a virtual world, ten thousand unwilling participants must clear all hundred floors of the floating castle, Aincrad, to return to reality. However, a death in SAO means the death of their physical body as well.

P.S. Slightly AU with respect to Suguha.

-!? Chapter 1 ?!

It crashed through my head like lightning, a mix of sound, force, and pain. My body was uncomfortably numb, tingling like a limb that had fallen asleep, prickling points of almost-pain flickering beneath my skin. Sensations began to filter in through the lessening static – the scent of dirt and leather, of the rough scratch of cobblestones against my cheek as my hands pushed ineffectually in their attempts to raise my quivering too-heavy body. I opened my eyes, fighting the sudden flare of nausea as the blurred images of thousands of shouting and crying players filled my sight. The volume of the chaos seemed oddly low, as if each voice was bubbling up from the depths of the ocean. "..to, Kirito!" I recoiled as if struck as my hearing returned, the plaza snapping into solidarity as the remainder of my eyesight returned with it. "It's me, Klein, let's get out of here." I said nothing as he lifted me to my feet. My eyes latched onto each person we passed as he led me through the tumultuous crowd, heart dropping as I noticed their imperfections.

Shortly before I had been struck into near unconsciousness I had taken out the mirror granted by Kayaba to each player shortly before the impending metamorphosis. As I stared into the crystal clear reflection my heart grew heavy as my avatar began to morph into the slightly feminine young-looking face I was always trying to escape. It had been only a moment before I realized something had gone terribly wrong. Had Suguha used my NerveGear? She must have, but what terrible luck had led to it failing to recalibrate correctly? No matter its cause, the face I now wore was a firm reminder that this world was not my own, and of the burden I would be if I lingered in this dreamworld.

Not noting the cessation of footsteps in front of me my nose bumped into Klein's chest. Hand flying up to cover it as I took a step back I got my first look at the changed Klein. He struck a pseudo-dignified pose, one hand on his chin. "So, what do ya think? Side burns are in, right?" I shook my head, lips crinkling upwards just a hair. "Man, I would have have never guessed you were a girl. Well, maybe a little. Actually now that I think about it..." I started to walk away, thoughts slowly gelling into a recognizable plan. "Hey, where are you going?" Klein called after me, running to catch up.

"To beat the game." It was a bold statement, I knew, but I couldn't just sit and wait for help to come from the outside. As insane as Kayaba now appeared to be, his genius was not something that should be underestimated. In this world of his own creation, he held all the power. For now, I had to trust his word that he would release us upon the clearing of the hundreth floor. Every day spent in this place would mean the slow withering of my true body, would mean an added burden on my sister. I had to escape as quickly as possible.

"What? You can't be thinking of going out there alone." Klein grabbed my arm, pausing me mid-step. "If you die out there it's _over_. Wait a few hours, I have friends in here with me. With you teaching us we'll beat this game in no time!"

"Let go of me." Twisting my arm in a small circle I broke his grip. My knees trembled as I walked towards the city gate.

"You're in shock, not thinking clearly. Please, think things over a little longer, Kirito-chan."

I wavered for a moment, but his use of -chan convinced me he wasn't ready. He still thought he was in the real world, couldn't fully grasp that his muscles in the real world meant nothing. He didn't accept in his heart that even what appeared to be a thirteen year old girl could kill him in the space of a heartbeat. "I'm sorry Klein, you're not ready to wak where I need to go. I'll try to come back for you when you're ready, if I can." With that I began to jog away, headed for the grassy hillocks that would lead me to the next town.

End Chapter 1:

Not entirely sure how far I'll go with this but it's likely the pairing will turn out to be Kirito/Sachi, if there's a pairing at all. This was sort of just a teaser chapter to see if anyone's interested. Sort of going for an adventure/drama/horror feel with this one. It's been so many months since I've written anything I felt I had to just write something to get back in the swing of things.


	2. Chapter 2

To time hop or not to time hop...

Start Chapter 2:

I'd never liked the starting floor of Aincrad. In the beta and now in this game of death it was a level of slow and plodding progress. Simultaneously the largest floor and the one in which players had the lowest movement speed, even simple travel-based quests could cost an hour to complete. Still, that wasn't why I found myself hating it. It wasn't why I wanted to knock every last virtual brick into dust.

The first floor of the floating castle, Aincrad, was unique amongst the discovered floors during the beta in that it was the only that sought to replicate reality. Colors were dull compared to their potential, buildings unimaginative, and the flora and fauna weren't much different than what one could find in the wilder parts of the Real World. On this floor, my character wasn't really all that much faster than I was in real life.

Frankly it all felt a little too real. If things were different, if there were dragons and wizards at every corner then maybe it would be easier to convince myself that the body I now wore really was just a character in a game. Maybe then I wouldn't be wondering what made something real or fake, important or trivial.

I had come up with a number of reasons to enter the tower only a week into the game, but perhaps the real reason was to distract myself from how I was changing.

* * *

The kobold's sword traced wild, sweeping arcs, eyes gleaming in the dark, labyrinthine tower. Its swordsmanship was laughable, and while the speed of its swings was moderately fast, the delay between them rendered its threat minimal. Rushing in I grabbed its shoulder as I jumped into a controlled spin, dagger cutting into its neck as I passed. Weak as my dagger was, even a strike to a critical area wasn't enough to bring down the kobold by itself, particularly without the use of a sword skill. Torquing myself through my grip on creature's tattered leather cuirass I landed with my face facing its back. Snarling it tried to turn and strike at me but my small, bare feet dug in behind the kobold's knees, maintaining my perch with my dagger hand still free to strike. And strike I did, a dozen quick strikes to the kidneys dropping its health bar to red. Dodging a clumsy grab I finished with a twisting pull of the knife from where it was lodged in its flesh. My feet suddenly lost their purchase, falling to hit the stone floor as the kobold I had been standing on shattered into bright polygons before disappearing entirely.

I took a deep breath, eyes half closing as I listened to my heartbeat slow. Neither breathing or a heartbeat was strictly necessary in this virtual prison but to me at least they were oddly calming. I took a step, steeling myself to continue. My steps were light, slow and sure. The stone of the tower held a slight chill but with my blood still heated from battle it was more refreshing than anything else. A pair of moccasins lay in my inventory but I had yet to use them. The larger monsters in this world tended to have heavy footsteps, their vibrations running through the ground an easy tip-off for the attentive. In this tower I needed every bit of help I could get. I knew from the beta that while kobolds tended to work alone or in pairs, the ogres that occasionally appeared would bring goblins flocking. The green pests were weak, contemptible creatures. They died quickly, but they were ever cowardly, running at the first sign of someone closing into melee range. Their projectiles were slow, and not terribly accurate, but at level five I had no wish to test my luck against their numbers.

A glyph lit up at the barest touch of my toe, and without conscious thought I propelled myself into a backwards roll. I hated magical traps. Physical traps I could generally avoid if I was careful, but magical trap detection required leveling noncombat skills I could ill-afford to spend time on. I cursed as a pair of kobold berzerkers dropped from the ceiling. Drawing my dagger with my left hand I leapt to my feet. In my offhand I couldn't perform sword skills, but it left my right hand free to grab throwing needles. One needle each went into their necks, silencing them before they could roar to bring more allies. Compared to the higher levels of the tower the mobs (monsters) here posed little threat, but after nearly twenty straight hours of fighting I had no wish to make any stupid mistakes so close to the safe room I had made my base in for the past few days. Two more needles created an opening and with a swift dash between the pair of overly-scarred berzerkers I hamstrung them both. Twelve seconds more and the limping pair had been put out of their misery.

Polygons shattering around me I took another deep breath as I scanned the hallway. The way clear of observers I stretched a hand out to the slightly off-color section of wall. Pressing in on a loose stone brick sent the wall swinging back to reveal my safe haven. Nerves settling I felt exhaustion sweep over me as I let my battle-readiness slip away. Then I heard the voice. "Who the hell are you?"

End chapter 2:

Still short, I know, but about 100 words more than the last one, and I think I've come up with a vague plot now. Not sure how much I'll be writing for awhile since tomorrow starts national novel writing month (nanowrimo) and I thought I might try my hand at it this year. So for now, enjoy this teaser. This isn't exactly a high traffic fandom at the moment, so thanks for all the reviews last chapter.


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